Adding value to gain competitive advantages
The interest in locally produced food is high among Swedish consumers. Yet so, many farmers struggle to be profitable and competitive. The food market has many different competitors, and therefore competition is fierce. For companies that want to stand out, clear strategies focusing on highlighti...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | Second cycle, A1E |
| Lenguaje: | sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2015
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8532/ |
| _version_ | 1855571368101281792 |
|---|---|
| author | Persson, Katarina |
| author_browse | Persson, Katarina |
| author_facet | Persson, Katarina |
| author_sort | Persson, Katarina |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | The interest in locally produced food is high among Swedish consumers. Yet so, many
farmers struggle to be profitable and competitive. The food market has many different
competitors, and therefore competition is fierce. For companies that want to stand out, clear
strategies focusing on highlighting the uniqueness and creating customer value are required.
The European Union have developed a common agricultural policy (CAP), which aims to let
the market control the production, and it emphasises Multifunctional agricultural (MFA)
companies as a good alternative. Entrepreneurship, diversification and value-adding activities
are some examples of what companies can focus on to become more competitive. Smaller
companies that lack the competitive advantage that many of the larger companies possess can,
by working with entrepreneurial strategies, focus on creating customer value, differentiation,
and niche products that provide unique and strong competitive advantages.
The purpose of the study is to investigate and highlight small Swedish agricultural and
horticultural firms’ corporate strategies to create competitive advantage. The focus is success
factors and value-added activities. Common to the participating companies is that they have
chosen to move up the value chain, and instead of only producing, they produce, process and
market the products under their own brand. Semi-structured interviews with three companies
with different orientation and size make the basis for the data collection. Thematic analysis
was used to analyse the material, and the analysis resulted in four themes: concept, brand,
important assets, and sustainability.
All entrepreneurs have chosen to differentiate themselves by creating their own brand, where
the farm’s concept is highlighted. The concept permeates all parts of the company and has a
clear focus on quality, service, communication, and dialogue towards the customers. Being a
transparent and open company has come naturally since the establishment of all companies,
and is something that they still emphasise. Much of the dialogue with customers is based on
being open with how the products are produced and who the farmer is. The most important
resources are the employees, the geographic location, and the owners' characteristics and
skills. Entrepreneurship constitutes a major part of the success factor. Seeing opportunities,
courage to try new ways, not to be afraid of mistakes, and to be constantly on the lookout for
new ideas are the basis for their success.
The results show it is possible to create sustainable competitive advantage by adding unique
value to ordinary food products. Due to adding high quality, good service, and aiming for an
open dialogue with the customers, agricultural and horticultural companies can create niche
products being interesting even in a competitive market where a lot revolves around price. It
should be noted that the strategies mentioned in the research are not a “quick-fix” and it is not
a risk-free solution. For the strategy to be successful it should be underpinned by a thorough
analysis of the market, customers, and competitors. Understanding and master entrepreneurial
thoughts have been proved to be of considerable character if one should find, retain, and
develop key success factors. |
| format | Second cycle, A1E |
| id | RepoSLU8532 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Swedish Inglés |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU85322015-10-21T14:27:09Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8532/ Adding value to gain competitive advantages Persson, Katarina Economics and management The interest in locally produced food is high among Swedish consumers. Yet so, many farmers struggle to be profitable and competitive. The food market has many different competitors, and therefore competition is fierce. For companies that want to stand out, clear strategies focusing on highlighting the uniqueness and creating customer value are required. The European Union have developed a common agricultural policy (CAP), which aims to let the market control the production, and it emphasises Multifunctional agricultural (MFA) companies as a good alternative. Entrepreneurship, diversification and value-adding activities are some examples of what companies can focus on to become more competitive. Smaller companies that lack the competitive advantage that many of the larger companies possess can, by working with entrepreneurial strategies, focus on creating customer value, differentiation, and niche products that provide unique and strong competitive advantages. The purpose of the study is to investigate and highlight small Swedish agricultural and horticultural firms’ corporate strategies to create competitive advantage. The focus is success factors and value-added activities. Common to the participating companies is that they have chosen to move up the value chain, and instead of only producing, they produce, process and market the products under their own brand. Semi-structured interviews with three companies with different orientation and size make the basis for the data collection. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the material, and the analysis resulted in four themes: concept, brand, important assets, and sustainability. All entrepreneurs have chosen to differentiate themselves by creating their own brand, where the farm’s concept is highlighted. The concept permeates all parts of the company and has a clear focus on quality, service, communication, and dialogue towards the customers. Being a transparent and open company has come naturally since the establishment of all companies, and is something that they still emphasise. Much of the dialogue with customers is based on being open with how the products are produced and who the farmer is. The most important resources are the employees, the geographic location, and the owners' characteristics and skills. Entrepreneurship constitutes a major part of the success factor. Seeing opportunities, courage to try new ways, not to be afraid of mistakes, and to be constantly on the lookout for new ideas are the basis for their success. The results show it is possible to create sustainable competitive advantage by adding unique value to ordinary food products. Due to adding high quality, good service, and aiming for an open dialogue with the customers, agricultural and horticultural companies can create niche products being interesting even in a competitive market where a lot revolves around price. It should be noted that the strategies mentioned in the research are not a “quick-fix” and it is not a risk-free solution. For the strategy to be successful it should be underpinned by a thorough analysis of the market, customers, and competitors. Understanding and master entrepreneurial thoughts have been proved to be of considerable character if one should find, retain, and develop key success factors. Intresset för närproducerad mat är stort bland svenska konsumenter trots detta har flertalet producenter svårt att konkurrera med utländska varor. Marknaden för mat har många olika aktörer och därför är konkurrensen hård. För att sticka ut krävs tydliga strategier som fokuserar på att lyfta fram det unika och att skapa kundvärde. Medlemsländerna i Europeiska Unionen har tillsammans tagit fram en gemensam jordbrukspolitik (CAP) som syftar till att låta marknaden styra produktionen och lyfter fram Multifunktionella landsbygdsföretag (MFA) som ett bra alternativ. Entreprenörskap, diversifiering och värdeskapande aktiviteter är några exempel på vad företag kan fokusera på för att bli mer konkurrenskraftiga. Mindre företag som saknar de konkurrensfördelar som många av de större företagen besitter kan, genom att arbeta med entreprenöriella strategier, fokusera på att skapa kundvärde, differentiering och nischprodukter som ger unika och starka konkurrensfördelar. Syftet med undersökningen är att undersöka och belysa små svenska lantbruks- och trädgårdsföretags strategier för att skapa konkurrensfördelar. Fokus är framgångsfaktorer och mervärdesskapande aktiviteter. Gemensamt för de medverkande företagen är att de valt att flytta upp i värdekedjan och istället för att endast vara primärproducenter så producerar, förädlar och säljer de nu under eget varumärke. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer med tre företag med olika inriktning och storlek ligger till grund för datainsamlingen. Tematisk analys har använts för att analysera det insamlade materialet, analysen resulterade i fyra teman; konceptet, varumärket, viktiga resurser och hållbarhet. Alla företagarna har valt att differentiera sig genom att skapa ett eget varumärke där ett eget koncept lyfts fram. Konceptet genomsyrar alla delar i företaget och har ett tydligt fokus på kvalitet, service, kommunikation och dialog. Att vara ett transparent och öppet företag har varit en självklarhet sedan starten för alla företagen och något som man arbetar med än idag. Mycket av dialogen med kunderna baseras på att vara öppen med hur produkterna är producerade och vem som är producenten. De viktigaste resurserna är medarbetarna, den geografiska placeringen och ägarnas karaktärsdrag och färdigheter. Entreprenörskap utgör en stor del framgångsfaktorn. Att se möjligheter, våga prova nya vägar, inte vara rädd för att göra misstag och att ständigt vara på jakt efter nya idéer utgör grunden för företagens framgång. Resultaten visar att det är möjligt att skapa hållbara konkurrensfördelar genom att lägga till unika mervärden till vanliga livsmedel. Genom hög kvalitet, bra service och dialog med kunderna så kan lantbruks- och trädgårdsföretag skapa nischprodukter som det finns ett intresse för även på en konkurrensutsatt marknad där mycket kretsar kring pris. Noteras ska att det är ingen snabb och riskfri lösning. För att strategin ska vara framgångsrik så bör den vara underbyggd av en grundlig analys av marknaden, kunderna och konkurrenterna. Att förstå och behärska entreprenöriella tankesätt har visat sig vara av betydande karaktär för att hitta, behålla och vidareutveckla konkurrenskraftiga framgångsfaktorer. 2015-10-05 Second cycle, A1E NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8532/1/Persson_K_151005.pdf Persson, Katarina, 2015. Adding value to gain competitive advantages : agricultural and horticultural firms’ corporate strategies to create wealth. Second cycle, A1E. Uppsala: (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Economics <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-510.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-4889 eng |
| spellingShingle | Economics and management Persson, Katarina Adding value to gain competitive advantages |
| title | Adding value to gain competitive advantages |
| title_full | Adding value to gain competitive advantages |
| title_fullStr | Adding value to gain competitive advantages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adding value to gain competitive advantages |
| title_short | Adding value to gain competitive advantages |
| title_sort | adding value to gain competitive advantages |
| topic | Economics and management |
| url | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8532/ https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8532/ |